Today marks 65 years since the start of the 823 Artillery Bombardment, a historic battle in which Taiwan fought off a Communist invasion of its outlying islands. For the third time in her tenure, President Tsai Ing-wen headed to the battle’s front line, Kinmen County, to pay tribute to fallen soldiers. Speaking in Kinmen, Tsai said that without that victory in 1958, the Taiwan we know today would not exist.
President Tsai Ing-wen visited Kinmen’s Taiwu Mountain Cemetery on Wednesday to preside at a public memorial service. She was joined by defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo, and KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih, who attended in his capacity as New Taipei mayor.
Tsai traded polite nods with Hou during their encounter. But she had much warmer greetings for the families of fallen soldiers.
Following visits in 2019 and 2020, this is Tsai’s third trip to Kinmen to commemorate the 823 Artillery Bombardment. After the service, she met the families of troops who fought off the PLA. She thanked the fallen soldiers for their sacrifice.
Tsai Ing-wen
President
On behalf of all our countrymen, I offer my greatest respects to those who gave their lives to defend the country. Driven by the idea of “one for all and all for one,” they beat back the enemy invaders and defended our homeland. They also gave us the opportunity to move down the path to democracy and freedom. If it were not for the victory at the 823 Artillery Bombardment, the Taiwan of today would not exist.
Besides paying tribute, Tsai emphasized the need for defense reforms and improvements to self-defense.
Tsai Ing-wen
President
We are very committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. To maintain peace, we must strengthen ourselves. Therefore, we must continue to push defense reforms, to promote autonomy in defense manufacturing, and to continuously improve our defense capabilities and resilience.
In related news, sources say Tsai will visit Eswatini, Taiwan’s last African ally, in the second half of September. Even in her last year in office, Tsai is keeping a tight diplomatic schedule.
